The Price
by DBZfangurl47
Summary: "Edward," I say. He looks up at me as I come forward and immediately glares. "What?" he snaps. "Use me. I want you to use my body and soul as payment for Alphonse." Alternate Manga/Brotherhood ending, Parental!RoyEd. SPOILERS FOR ENDING OF MANGA/BROTHERHOOD.


It's over. It's actually over. We _won_.

When Edward delivered the final blow to Father, and defeated him at last, I couldn't even applaud like everyone else. All I could do is stand and stare at my son, my son with a _flesh and bone_ right arm.

I watch as he makes his way over to the still armor that only moments ago held his younger brother's soul. Ed stands over the armor, completely silent. I can't even imagine what must have been going through his head right then. The little Xingese girl stops crying long enough to ask Ed what he's going to do. Ed explains that he won't use himself as a sacrifice to bring Al back. He knows it's foolish, and that his brother would never forgive him. Ed stares at the armor for a long time, trying to think of what would pay for his brother's body and soul.

After a few minutes, a blonde woman leads the now-blind Colonel Mustang over to Edward. I watch as the colonel reaches out a hand and puts it comfortingly on Ed's shoulder. Ed turns around and gives Roy a sad look. I wonder for a moment if he's going to cry, but he doesn't. He turns back to the armor and puts a hand on top of the one on his shoulder. Roy bends down and says something so softly I can hardly hear him from where I am.

"Its okay, Edward." he said, "You're smart, you'll think of a way to get him back."

Ed nods and the colonel gives his shoulder a gentle squeeze.

As Roy and the blonde woman walk away, I suddenly feel jealous. I'm his father; I should be the one comforting him. But I know if I'd tried, Ed would only push me away. It makes sense why the he would trust the colonel more than me, though. I left him and his brother when they were practically still babies. I wasn't trying to hurt them, but they were too young to understand. From what I've learned about the colonel, he's been by Ed's side longer than I ever was. Apparently, he's the one who got Edward into the military in the first place, because he knew the exclusive research, libraries and such would help him get his and Al's bodies back. What did I do at that time, when they were in desperate need of help? Nothing, I wasn't even there. The more I think about it, the more I realize Colonel Mustang's been more of a father to my boys than I have. And I know what I should do.

"Edward," I say. He looks up at me as I come forward and immediately glares.

"What?" he snaps.

"Use me. I want you to use my body and soul as payment for Alphonse." The glare lifts from his face as he stares at me in shock. After a second, it returns.

"No way!" He yells, "This is our mistake, we have to figure out how to fix it! I don't need your help, I never have!"

"Ed, it isn't only your fault. It's mine as well." I say calmly, "If I hadn't left, you boys wouldn't have been alone and so desperate for your mother back."

"We still would have brought her back." He insists.

"And then I would have been there to help with the damage afterwards. But I wasn't. I was never there when you needed me. So, _please_, Ed. I'm trying to be act like a father, at least this one time."

Now Ed really looked like he going to cry. His eyes welled up with tears as he yelled at me again. "N-no! You can't! Al… Al stills needs a father!"

"And he's got one." I gesture to the colonel. "A much better one than me." I grab a pole from the debris surrounding us and rub one end of it against the ground. It leaves a mark, just as I had hoped. I start drawing a large transmutation circle.

Edward looks at the colonel, who's oblivious that he was the one being referred to as the boys' father, then looks back at me. The expression on his dirty, bloody face is one of helplessness. He's realized I've made up my mind, and he knows he can't convince me otherwise, but he still wants to do something.

"B-but," he stutters. I look up from the complicated circle I'm drawing and smile at him.

"I've lived a long time, Edward. I'm ready to die. I want to see my wife again." I watch as a tear runs down his face, leaving a pinkish trail behind it as it mixes with his blood.

I continue with the circle, and everyone around me is completely silent, except for the occasional sniffle from Ed or the Xingese girl. When I finish, I walk over to Ed, take his arm, and lead him to the center of the circle.

"You're going to take your brother home." I tell him. He sniffles, rubs his arm over his eyes, then nods. What he says next surprises me.

"…Thanks. For… ya know."

I nod, then look over my shoulder at the colonel. He's staring at the ground, eyebrows slightly furrowed in concentration as he tries to determine what's going on just by his hearing.

"Colonel Mustang," I say. He immediately turns his unfocused eyes to me. I smile softly, though I know he can't see it. "Thank you, for being a father to my boys. Take care of them." He returns my smile with one of his own, and nods his head.

I look down to Edward. "Are you ready?" I ask.

Ed looks up to me and replies in a serious, determined voice. "Yes."

The two of us kneel down and slap our hands to the circle. All around us lights up with alchemic energy. Then suddenly, we're in a completely white void. In front of us in a silhouette of a man with no facial features except for a giant grin. This must be who Ed referred to as "Truth".

"So, young alchemist," He says to Edward. "You've come for your brother?"

"Yes." Ed replies.

"Surely you haven't forgotten about the price. What is it this time?" Truth asks eagerly. I step forward.

"I'm the price for Alphonse's body and soul." I say.

"Perfect!" Truth exclaims. He reaches out and grabs my arm. Immediately, my arm begins to slowly break away to nothing.

"Hohenheim!" Ed yells. I give him a reassuring smile as my body continues to disappear.

"Go get your brother, Edward." I tell him. Ed glances behind him to see another gate, and in front of it sits a long-haired, extremely-skinny version of Alphonse. Ed turns back and stares at me a moment more before tearing his eyes away and racing to his brother.

As the rest of me breaks away, I focus on my sons. Ed kneels in front of Al and brushes his bangs from his eyes. Then Al throws his arms around Ed's neck and hugs him as tight as he can. I watch as Ed helps his brother up, then the two look at me as the rest of me disappears. The last thing I hear is Al's voice as he calls out to me.

"Dad!"

**Author's Note:**

**I know, that was short. But I got the idea in my head and had to write it. And I'm bored, so I touched it up and posted it. **

**I've always loved the ending of Brotherhood/the manga much more than the ending of the original, but the one thing that bugged me is that Ed lost his alchemy. When I re-watched that final episode a week or so ago (For like the hundredth time) and Hoho offered himself as a sacrifice, I thought, "You should have accepted his offer, Ed! No more jerk dad, you keep your alchemy and you get your bro back! Besides, he dies like the next day anyway.". XD Soooo I wrote this little What If? story. **

**Now two things are pretty obvious about me thanks to this fic. 1, I'm not a fan of Hohenheim, and 2, I'm a huge supporter of Parental!RoyEd and Parental!RoyAl. I know a lot of people like Hoho, and I respect that, but I hate him about as much as I hate Shou Tucker and milk. XD **

**Anyways, this author's note is going to be longer than the actual story. XD Please review, tell me what you think! Unless you didn't like it, then just keep your comments to yourself. :D (I'm kidding, you can express your opinion however you like but please don't flame me lol)**

**Oh, one more thing! The picture used is not mine. It's by lordofawesomeness on deviantART.**


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